


Turn the Next Corner

by digitalsoop



Category: Free!
Genre: College, Drinking, Eventual Relationships, Multi, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-05-01 01:46:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5187488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitalsoop/pseuds/digitalsoop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke's summer is ending at a low point; it's unbearably hot, a year will have passed since he graduated high school, and while others have been travelling the world and going to college to pursue their careers, all he has is the plastic name tag from his job at a convenience store and a favorite seat at a hole-in-the-wall bar. He's glad that Rin can't get on his case all the way from Australia, but he's forgotten about the smaller, more formidable Matsuoka that's still nearby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turn the Next Corner

**Author's Note:**

> Italicized text in quotes are text messages or emails. Also, sometimes I will write someone sending multiple messages.
> 
> "For example, I won't put an ending quotation mark, and jump to a new paragraph.  
> "Something like this is still the same person talking. There's no ending quotation mark until that person is finished talking."   
> Except in this case, it's one person sending multiple texts in a row.

Sousuke’s early morning jog hadn’t stayed cool for very long. Tokyo was blisteringly hot, and he had over six blocks to cover before he made it home. It almost made him miss the seaside. Almost. He lifted his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair, dark hair that felt as hot as the sun. No matter what he told himself his hat wasn’t very useful. It wasn’t even enough to cool his head or stop him from squinting against the sun, so he put it to work as a fan instead. It felt nice, for a second; about as much as he could expect from the short puffs of air waving a hat around could provide.

He could save himself a few blocks and walk to the train station, or hop on a bus. No one could judge him for bailing on his workout, even though he had put it off for three days already. Running even three blocks in this heat was already an accomplishment; it practically counted as six. But, more importantly, no one was around to care.

He put his hat back on. He needed a water.

There were vending machines, and konbinis, and fast-food-hole-in-the-wall places on nearly every street and corner, but he chose a Starbucks. Air conditioning, no smell of grease, and anyone that came in panting and sweaty wouldn’t be judged too harshly; he was getting a drink from Starbucks while casually checking his phone. He had his life together.

He spared a glance and hesitated. He also knew the barista.

The customer in front of him moved down the counter, but Sousuke was rooted in place, watching the shiny name tag that glinted with each sway and shuffle. It was still easy to read; it was a common name.

Tachibana Makoto.

“S-sousuke-kun—,” he bounced and shook his head, “uh—welcome! Hot outside?”

“Yeah.” Sousuke scratched under his chin. The sweat was starting to dry. His hair was surely a matted mess underneath his hat. When had he last seen Makoto? It must have been around their graduation ceremonies, over a year ago. “It’s nice in here though.”

“Some people are still ordering hot coffee and tea, actually, so it gets a little warm back here.” Makoto smiled, resigned. “What would you like?”

“Uh,” he glanced up at the menu, which seemed to span the entire store and written in kanji and hiragana he suddenly couldn’t read. “Juice?”

Makoto’s smile brightened, his eyebrows raising. Sousuke frowned. Makoto cleared his throat. “What size?”

“Big.”

“Flavor?”

“Pick it.”

“Right, okay. No problem.”

Sousuke tilted his head and pulled his money clip out of his pocket. Mostly, Makoto looked the same. His hair was a little shorter, making him look even more neat and tidy than he had in high school. Maybe he had cut it for the chance to wear that Starbucks hat. But, his skin was mostly clear, and his teeth were white, just how they had been a year ago. Then he turned to grab a cup and a pen and Sousuke raised his chin so quickly he felt it in his neck. “You pierced your ears.”

The marker skidded across the cup, which bounced between Makoto’s hands and chest, then finally fell on the floor with a clatter. The ears in question turned bright pink. Now the two shiny, black studs seemed painfully obvious, especially with Makoto brushing his fingers over them between each fumbling attempt to get a new cup. “Yeah I—I had them pierced about a week ago. My manager was okay with them—they’re kinda trendy now and it’s Tokyo and all.”

“Never seemed like that kinda guy.” Sousuke put a bill on the tray. Makoto hunched his shoulders.

“Some friends said it’d look good with my new haircut.” His smile was a bit crooked as he exchanged the bill for smaller coins. “And, you know, they _are_ pretty trendy.”

_You don’t have to justify it to me, you know._

“Yeah,” Sousuke nodded and gathered the change in one hand, shoving it in his pocket. He wasn’t even sure how much money he had been charged. Makoto hadn’t mentioned the total—or maybe he had, while Sousuke was staring him down instead of listening. And now he was standing there, staring him down again. Makoto smiled and put down his marker and his cup.

“Your juice will be ready in a minute.”

Behind him a short line had started, and he quickly side stepped and continued down the length of the counter at a shuffle. He could still see Makoto, eyes focused and nods perfectly timed; a champion of attentive listening and polite banter. Sousuke sniffed and turned his eyes to the floor. There were his shoes, a bit scuffed with laces tied in a rush, and he only now noticed that his socks did not match. His running shorts weren’t so much running shorts as they were wrinkled gym shorts, and he knew that his face was sour; his eyes were tired, his cheeks were ruddy from the sun and—hell, where was his juice anyway?

He pulled his hat down, snatched his drink before it could even touch the counter and left. This route was not one he took often; it was out of the way, not close to his house or to his job. The chances of him ever stepping foot in that Starbucks, let alone seeing Makoto again, were slim. His shoulders relaxed. He took a slow, careful sip of his drink. Some kind of berry blend, maybe?

Not really his thing. He should have trusted his instincts. Never decide against the vending machine.

Still, how bad was his luck that, despite Tokyo’s size, he would run into someone that he knew? Rin would probably get a kick out of it, but he would hardly call it bad luck. He and Makoto were still close friends, and he liked that kind of thing anyway. It was the perfect opportunity to brag a bit—if you had anything worth bragging about.

Makoto had his earrings. His job.

Sousuke had—well—he’d gained five pounds. And he also had a job. Without a visor. But with a nametag. He chewed his straw, drops of mixed berry oozing out like syrup. It probably wouldn’t be bad if it was carbonated. Ahead was a crosswalk, and two people on their phones, waiting. Sousuke joined them, looking across the street where an orange hand reminded them that their wait wasn’t over.

_Guess neither of us had much to brag about, really._

The light changed and he overtook his waiting buddies in a matter of seconds, still chewing his straw as he went. He could feel the heat seeping into the skin of his shoulders and arms, an impending sunburn that would only get worse the longer he stayed outside. The train station was two blocks away. The bus stop was five feet away, and crowded with people vying for a spot in the shade; even if he didn’t get out of the sun, the few minutes wait between buses was better than the walk he’d have to make to the train station. Plus, now that he was starting to get used to the taste, his juice was pretty refreshing.

So, he sidled up to the bus shelter, managing to get one shoulder in the shade and joined yet another wait. No one paid him any attention. No one recognized him. No one reacted when he started muttering curses, turning over his money clip and looking between the bills, checking inside the case of his smartphone for a card that might have slipped inside. He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. This could not be how his entire day would go.

" _I lost my damn Suica."_

Rin replied to the text almost immediately, but he wasn’t very sympathetic: " _(lol) completely hopeless. How much was on it?"_

_"I just loaded it."_

_"Oh my God that’s 20,000 isn’t it? Why the hell would you load it and not get MySuica?"_

_"It’s not like I thought I’d lose it."_

_"Even I have MySuica and I’m a hell of a lot better at keeping track of my stuff than you are. If something like that is offered it makes sense to take it, right? It’s a total replacement!"_

_"My foresight is crap, I don’t know how I made it a year without you."_

_"Forget a year, how’d you survive all of middle school and most of high school without me?"_

Sousuke hesitated, chewing on his straw again. The small crowd around him shuffled and straightened, forming a polite line that he was at the end of. " _Probably thanks to my actual mother. Don’t give yourself too much credit, ‘specially with you being the one that was always getting me into trouble."  
_

_"Me getting you into trouble? Really? Haru said the weather was hot. Did it fry your brain?"_

_"I stand by it even as the heat puts me on my death bed. Tell my actual mother I love her."_

_"Shuuuuut uuuup."_

The bus fare wasn’t much, but that didn’t ease the sting of 20,000 yen that vanished with his Suica. Rin was still texting him while he climbed on the bus and found a seat; no one wanted to be too close to each other, but they seemed to take special care to avoid him. There was no discreet way to smell himself, so he just assumed it must have been something like a wet dog if no one wanted to sit by him. But he still had his cup from Starbucks. He was a guy that had his life together, even if he needed to shower.

_"It’s hotter in Australia than it will ever be in Japan, but it doesn’t bother me much._

_I guess we know who’s the strongest once and for all, huh? Despite your muscle, you’re totally a wilting flower!"_

_"Go cry about how beautiful sakura petals are when they fall."_

_"How many times do I have to tell you that never happened!!"_

_"I’ve got quite a few sources saying that’s exactly what happened."_

_"Well it wasn’t like that, it was the thought and circumstances of the thing._

_Whatever I don’t have to explain something that never happened. I don’t have time anyway. I’ve got training to do. Meetings to get to."_

_"Meetings about what?"_

_"Ha! You’ll see! Probably this weekend, actually, right in your store! Heh heh heh. You’re gonna lose your mind when you see it.’_

_‘What, are you coming home to a parade?? Are they putting up a statue in your honor?_

_No, forget it, I don’t wanna play guessing games when I’m being melted by the sun. I’ll see it when I see it. Just keep up the good work, Rin.’_

_‘Right, of course I will. Who do you think I am, huh? I never stop doing good work! (lol) Take care of yourself, Sousuke, okay?’_

_‘Who do you think I am, huh?’_

Buildings sped past the window, glittering in the sun like the diamonds that settled on the ocean waves. He squinted and pulled his hat down to cover his eyes, before the sun burned them, too.

**Author's Note:**

> *Suica- a charge card that is used to pay for public transportation, mainly trains. You can also use them as debit cards on the trains, in train stations, and in stores that accept them. You can put up to 20,000 yen on them, which is about 200 US dollars.   
> *MySuica- the same as a Suica, but it can be replaced with a new one if it's lost, balance intact.   
> *(lol)- the way I translate "wwww" or laughing emoji  
> *Putting money on a tray- Instead of money exchanging hands, you put your money on a tray. The cashier puts your change there too. Sousuke could have paid with coins, but he didn't actually have any with him.
> 
> I was heavily inspired by the song Tsugi no Kado wo Magare (translated to: Turn the Next Corner) by °C-ute. Unfortunately, if you're affected by YouTube Red you can't listen to the song there, but you can listen to it on Dailymotion. You can find the music video on Nichiyobi's channel.


End file.
